“It shall be done, my lord.”
“Take great care of it,” repeated the admiral. “My safety may depend upon its production.”
Ugo reiterated his assurances, and withdrew.
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Chapter XVII
HOW THE PROTECTOR AND THE ADMIRAL WERE AGAIN RECONCILED
At the appointed hour that night, the admiral was secretly introduced into the king’s closet. On beholding him Edward sprang towards him, and embraced him most affectionately.
“How long it seems since we met, dear uncle!” he exclaimed. “How doth the queen your consort, and your ward and my sweet cousin, the Lady Jane?”
“I will answer the last question first, sire,” replied the admiral. “Jane is somewhat delicate, and I half suspect she is pining because she is not allowed to see your Majesty.”
“I am equally unhappy,” rejoined Edward. “But the separation, I trust, will not endure much longer. Things must be changed.”
“It is time they were so, sire,” cried Seymour, “for in good truth, you are not treated like a king. Is it right or fitting that I, your uncle, should be denied admittance to you, and should be compelled to approach you thus stealthily?”
“Indeed it is not, dear uncle,” replied the king; “and I could almost weep to think of it.”
“Sire,” cried the admiral, “I need not say how deeply devoted I am to you, that I love you as a nephew, that I honor you as a sovereign, and that I am prepared at any time to lay down my life for you. If the course of action that I may advise you to pursue should alarm you, be assured it is dictated by the strongest feelings of regard for your welfare. You are not treated as becomes the son of your august father. With what motives I will not now pause to inquire, it is obvious that the lord protector is determined to deprive you of all power. He excludes from you all those who love you and would give you good counsel, and places those around you who are mere instruments of his own. You must throw off this yoke. You must learn to rule and govern as other kings do.”
“I am well enough inclined to do so, dear uncle, and methinks I could discharge some of my kingly functions fittingly, if I were allowed.”
“It shall be mine to accomplish this for you, sire,” rejoined the admiral. “You have shown too much submission to your uncle, and piece by piece he has stripped you of all your regal attributes till he has left you the mere name of king. I say not this to rouse your anger, but it is the truth, and you ought to know it. While my brother fills his own coffers from the royal revenues, he will not give you wherewithal to reward your men. And why does he keep you thus bare? Not from parsimony, for he can be profuse enough when it suits him, but because, by depriving you of money, he deprives you of power. Shame on him, I say! However, there is one comfort. He is old, and cannot last long.”
“Would he were dead!” exclaimed Edward. “No, that was a wicked wish,” he added, checking himself, “and I am sorry I gave utterance to it.”
“I am not surprised you wish him gone,” rejoined the admiral. “As long as he remains at the head of affairs you will have no authority, and should he be alive and in his present position when your minority ceases you will have some trouble in assuming your own.”
“But that is a long time off, good uncle,” observed Edward. “Meantime I would be king, and not the mere puppet I am made.”
“In good truth, your Majesty is but a beggarly king—almost an object of pity to your household.”
“Pitied by my household!” cried Edward. “Am I reduced so low as that?”
“The lord protector has brought it to this pass by his arts,” cried Seymour. “And so long as your Majesty is content, it will continue, if not become worse.”
“Worse it can scarce become,” rejoined Edward. “But how am I to free myself? What is to be done?”